Dual-lens mounting for a spherical camera

ABSTRACT

Dual-lens assemblies and cameras including dual lens-assemblies that include a first lens barrel securing a first lens having a first optical axis and a second lens barrel securing a second lens having a second optical axis are disclosed. In one dual-lens assembly, the first optical axis is approximately parallel to and spaced from the second optical axis by a lateral offset, axial lengths of the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel are approximately equal, and the first lens and the second lens are oriented in opposite directions at opposing ends of the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.15/057,896, entitled “UniBody Dual-Lens Mount for a Spherical Camera,”filed on Mar. 1, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/134,567, entitled “UniBody Dual-Lens Mount for aSpherical Camera,” filed on Mar. 18, 2015, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/267,864, entitled “UniBody Dual-Lens Mount for aSpherical Camera,” filed on Dec. 15, 2015, each of which areincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

This disclosure relates to a camera, and more specifically, to lensmounting relationships in a spherical camera.

Description of the Related Art

In a spherical content capture system, a spherical camera capturesimages or video in a 360 degree field of view along a horizontal axisand 180 degree field of view along the vertical axis, thus capturing theentire environment around the camera system in every direction.Generally, such cameras utilize multiple camera lenses oriented indifferent directions and stitch the images captured by the multiplecamera lenses in post-processing using a stitching algorithm. Whenapplying the stitching algorithm, it is preferable for the fields ofview of the multiple camera lenses to overlap so that no portions of theresultant spherical image are missing. For best performance and mostefficient application of the stitching algorithm, it is furthermorepreferable that the amount of overlap is predictable and consistentbetween content captured from different spherical cameras.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the disclosure, a camera includes a camera body; afirst lens disposed on a first side of the camera body and having afirst optical axis; and a second lens disposed on a second side of thecamera body and having a second optical axis. The first lens and thesecond lens are oriented in opposite directions, and the first opticalaxis is approximately parallel to and spaced from the second opticalaxis by a lateral offset.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a dual-lens assembly includes afirst lens having a first optical axis and a first image circleoff-center relative to a first photosite of a first image sensorcapturing a hyper-spherical image plane from light entering the firstlens and a second lens having a second optical axis and a second imagecircle off-center relative to a second photosite of a second imagesensor capturing a hyper-spherical image plane from light entering thesecond lens. The first lens and the second lens are oriented in oppositedirections, and the first optical axis is approximately parallel to andspaced from the second optical axis by a lateral offset defined by adistance between the first and second image circles.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a dual-lens assembly includes afirst lens barrel securing a first lens having a first optical axis anda second lens barrel securing a second lens having a second opticalaxis. The first optical axis is approximately parallel to and spacedfrom the second optical axis by a lateral offset, axial lengths of thefirst lens barrel and the second lens barrel are approximately equal,and the first lens and the second lens are oriented in oppositedirections at opposing ends of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed embodiments have other advantages and features which willbe more readily apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention and the appended claims, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a camera system capable of capturing sphericalcontent, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a field of view of a camera system capable ofcapturing spherical content, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of a unibody dual-lens mount,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates a cut-away view of a unibody dual-lens mount,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4A illustrates a perspective view of a dual-lens assembly,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4B illustrates a cut-away view of a dual-lens assembly, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cut-away view of a securing structure for securinga circuit board to a unibody dual-lens mount, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a lens image circle projected onto a rectangularimage sensor, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures and the following description relate to preferredembodiments by way of illustration only. It should be noted that fromthe following discussion, alternative embodiments of the structures andmethods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viablealternatives that may be employed without departing from the principlesof what is claimed.

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted thatwherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used inthe figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figuresdepict embodiments of the disclosed system (or method) for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following description that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles described herein.

Additionally, where terms like “substantially” or “approximately” areused herein, they refer to being within a predefined toleranceunderstood by those of skill in the art to meet the requirements for theintended purpose. In different cases, this could be, for example, withina 5% tolerance, a 10% tolerance, etc. Thus, in on embodiment, terms suchas approximately (or substantially) parallel or approximately (orsubstantially) perpendicular mean that the elements are within apredefined tolerance of true parallel or true perpendicularrespectively.

Example Spherical Capture Camera System

A spherical camera will capture in every direction (or substantiallyevery direction with the exception of some relatively small blind spots)in the surrounding environment (e.g., 360 degrees in the horizontalplane and 180 degrees in the vertical plane). In order to capturespherical content, a spherical camera has at least two lenses thatcapture overlapping images that can be combined to form a sphericalimage using a stitching algorithm. In order to minimize the size andcost of the spherical camera, it is preferable to use the minimum numberof lenses required to capture suitable spherical content.

FIG. 1 illustrates a spherical camera 100, according to one embodiment.The spherical camera 100 comprises a camera body 110 having two cameralenses 410 structured on a front and back surfaces of the camera body110, various indicators on the front and/or back surface of the camerabody (such as LEDs, displays, and the like), various input mechanisms(such as buttons, switches, and touch-screen mechanisms), andelectronics (e.g., imaging electronics, power electronics, etc.)internal to the camera body 110 for capturing images via the cameralenses 410 and/or performing other functions. The two lenses 410 areoriented in opposite directions and couple with two images sensorsmounted on circuit boards 430. Other electrical camera components (e.g.,an image processor, camera SoC (system-on-chip), etc.) may also beincluded on a circuit board 120 within the camera body 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates a field of view 200 of a spherical camera system 100,according to one embodiment. A first lens 410 a of the spherical capturecamera system 100 has field of view 200 a with boundary 210 a, in frontof which the first image sensor 415 a captures a firsthyper-hemispherical image plane from light entering the first lens 410a. A second lens 410 b of the spherical capture system has field of view200 b with boundary 210 b, in front of which the second image sensor 415b captures a second hyper-hemispherical image plane from light enteringthe second lens 410 b. Areas that are out of the field of view 200 ofboth lenses 410 are considered blind spots 220 because no content isbeing captured from those areas. It is desirable to minimize such blindspots 220 in order to capture as much content from the environmentsurrounding the spherical capture camera system 100 as possible. Outsideof overlap points 230, content captured by each lens 410 overlaps. Theoverlapping region can be correlated in post-processing in order toalign the captured fields of view 200 and stitch them together to form acohesive image.

As can be understood from FIG. 2, any small change in alignment (e.g.,position, tilt, etc.) between the lens 410 or their respective imagesensors 415 changes the relative positions of their respective fields ofview 200, and the locations of the stitch points 230. This mayundesirably increase the size of the blind spot 220 on one side of thecamera 100. Furthermore, the stitching algorithm becomes significantlymore complex if the locations of the stitch line 230 cannot beaccurately known or well-estimated from the camera structure. Therefore,the camera 100 will ideally maintain the location and orientation of thelenses 410 and their respective image sensors 415 within very tighttolerances to ensure that the desired fields of view are captured andthat the stitching algorithm can accurately and efficiently stitch theimages together. For example, in one embodiment, optical axes throughthe lenses 410 are maintained substantially antiparallel to each other(e.g., within a predefined tolerance such as 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, etc.), andthe image sensors 415 are maintained substantially perpendicular (e.g.,within a predefined tolerance such as 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, etc.) to theoptical axes through their respective lenses 410.

As seen in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the lenses 410 are laterallyoffset from each other and each off-center from a central axis of thecamera. As compared to a camera with back-to-back lenses (e.g., lensesaligned along the same axis), the laterally offset lenses enables thecamera 100 to be built with substantially reduced thickness while stillaccommodating the lengths of the lens barrels securing the lenses 410.For example, in one embodiment, the overall thickness of the camera 100can be close to the length of a single lens barrel as opposed to twicethe lens barrel as would be needed in a back-to-back configuration.Furthermore, in one embodiment, to achieve best overlap in the fields ofview 200 of the lenses 410, the lenses 410 are positioned as closetogether laterally as will be allowable by the lens structure.

Example Unibody Dual-Lens Mount

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate perspective and cut-away views, respectively,of a unibody dual-lens mount 300 that is enclosed within the camerasystem 100, according to one embodiment. The unibody dual-lens mount 300rigidly secures the two lenses 410 to maintain a tight tolerance betweentheir relative positions. Though the unibody dual-lens mount 300 isdiscussed herein in the context of several components for the purpose ofexplanation, in practice it may be formed from a single uniform material(e.g., a rigid plastic). In particular, for the purpose of explanation,the unibody dual-lens mount is described in terms of two lens barrels310 that each secure a lens 410 and two base portions 330 that join thelens barrels 310 together, all of which form portions of a singleunibody construction without requiring adhesives or other fasteningstructures.

In one embodiment, a first lens barrel 310 a has a hollow cylindricalshape and is configured to secure the first lens 410 a. The first lensbarrel 310 a has a top 312 a, midsection 314 a and bottom 316 a alongits axial length. The midsection 314 a is located between the top 312 aand the bottom 316 a of the first lens barrel 310 a. The midsection 314a may be located at a midpoint halfway between the top 312 a and thebottom 316 a of the first lens barrel 310 a. Alternatively, themidsection 314 a can be located closer to the top 312 a than the bottom316 a of the first lens barrel 310 a, or closer to the bottom 316 a thanthe top 312 a of the first lens barrel 310 a. Additionally, the firstlens barrel 310 a has a central axis 318 a that is parallel to its axiallength. The first lens barrel 310 a also has a diameter, which may beconstant throughout the length of the cylinder. In some embodiments, thediameter has a step-wise increase near the top 312 a of the first lensbarrel 310 a. The step-wise increase in diameter may accommodate areciprocal piece 320 inside the first lens barrel 310 a to help securethe first lens 410 a.

Similarly, a second lens barrel 310 b also has a hollow cylindricalshape and is configured to secure the second lens 410 b. The second lensbarrel 310 b has a top 312 b, midsection 314 b and bottom 316 b alongits axial length. The midsection 314 b is located between the top 312 band the bottom 316 b of the second lens barrel 310 b. The midsection 314b may be located at a midpoint halfway between the top 312 b and thebottom 316 b of the second lens barrel 310 b. Alternatively, themidsection 314 b can be located closer to the top 312 b than the bottom316 b of the second lens barrel 310 b, or closer to the bottom 316 athan the top 312 b of the second lens barrel 310 b. Additionally, thesecond lens barrel 310 b has a central axis 318 b that is parallel toits axial length. The second lens barrel 310 b also has a diameter,which may be constant throughout the length of the cylinder. In someembodiments, the diameter has a step-wise increase similar to thatdescribed with respect to the first lens barrel 310 a. The step-wiseincrease in diameter may accommodate the reciprocal piece 320 inside thesecond lens barrel 310 b to help secure the second lens 410 b.

The central axis 318 a of the first lens barrel 310 a can beapproximately antiparallel to the central axis 318 b of the second lensbarrel 310 b, such that the lens barrels 310 are approximately alignedin parallel but oriented in opposite directions. The lens barrels 310may have similar or equal diameters, for example, measuring in a rangebetween 10 mm and 25 mm in width. The lens barrels 310 can also beoffset laterally, perpendicular to the central axes 318. The lateraloffset or lateral separation may be such that the lens barrels 310 arestructured next to each other with only a small lateral separationbetween them.

In some embodiments, the lateral distance or lateral separation betweenan outer cylindrical surface of the first lens barrel 310 a and an outercylindrical surface of the second lens barrel 310 b is significantlysmaller than the diameter of the first lens barrel 310 a or the secondlens barrel 310 b. The lateral separation between the lens barrels 310(and thus, the lenses 410) allows the first lens barrel 310 a and thesecond lens barrel 310 b to have approximately the same diameter andaxial length. Further description of lateral separation between thelenses 410 is made below in respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

The lens barrels 310 are joined by a first base portion 330 a and asecond base portion 330 b. The first base portion 330 a has a topsurface 332 a and a bottom surface 334 a. The first base portion 330 aextends radially outward from the bottom 316 a of the first lens barrel310 a and joins with the midsection 314 b of the second lens barrel 310b. Similarly, the second base portion 330 b has a top surface 332 b anda bottom surface 334 b. The second base portion 330 b extends radiallyoutward from the bottom 316 b of the second lens barrel 310 b and joinswith the midsection 314 a of the first lens barrel 310 a. The first baseportion 330 a can extend approximately perpendicularly relative to thecentral axis 318 a of the first lens barrel 310 a and join the secondlens barrel 310 b approximately perpendicular to its central axis 318 b.The second base portion 330 b can also extend approximatelyperpendicularly relative to the central axis 318 b of the second lensbarrel and join the first lens barrel 310 a approximately perpendicularto its central axis 318 a.

The first base portion 330 a and the second base portion 330 b can besubstantially rectangular and have substantially the same thickness.This thickness can be significantly smaller than the axial lengths ofthe lens barrels 310. The thickness of the base portions 330 may vary tocreate several ridges that act to increase the rigidity of the mount 300and reduce the relative tilts of the lens barrels 310 under stress.Furthermore, in one embodiment, the structures of the base portions 330each include an approximately rectangular cavity for housing a circuitboard on which the image sensor 415 is mounted. This structure,maintains the image sensors 415 in an orientation substantiallyperpendicular to the central axes 318 of the lens barrels 310.Additionally, the base portions 330 can be approximately parallel to andvertically offset from each other in the orientation shown. The lensbarrels 310 and base portions 330 are structured such that the top 312 aof the first lens barrel 310 a extends past the bottom surface 334 b ofthe second base potion 330 b, and the top 312 b of the second lensbarrel 310 b extends past the bottom surface 334 a of the first baseportion 330 a. In some embodiments, the base portions 330 also includestructures 336 designed to receive a connector or securing mechanismthat attaches another component to the unibody dual-lens mount 300.

Example Dual-Lens Assembly

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate perspective and cut-away views of a dual-lensassembly 400 including the unibody dual-lens mount 300, according to oneembodiment. In addition to the unibody dual-lens mount 300, thedual-lens assembly 400 includes two lens mounts 420, two image sensors415 attached to circuit boards 430, and a plurality of securingstructures 440. Additionally, the dual-lens assembly 400 may securemultiple internal lenses other than outward-facing lenses 410 within thelens barrels 310.

The first lens 410 a is secured to the first lens barrel 310 a with afirst lens mount 420 a. The first lens mount 420 a can include a firstlens frame 422 a that encases the first lens 410 a. Similarly, thesecond lens 410 b is secured to the second lens barrel 310 b with asecond lens mount 420 b, which can also include a second lens frame 422b that encases the second lens 410 b. The lenses 410 may be secured suchthat they are approximately parallel to each other and oriented inopposite directions.

A first circuit board 430 a houses a first image sensor 415 a and has atop surface 432 a and a bottom surface 434 a. A second circuit board 430b houses a second image sensor 415 b and has a top surface 434 a and abottom surface 434 b. The first circuit board 430 a and second circuitboard 430 b are secured to the unibody dual-lens mount 300 with securingstructures 440. The securing structures 440 couple with the reciprocalstructures 336 on the unibody dual-lens mount 300. The circuit boards430 can be secured to the unibody dual-lens mount 300 such that thecircuit boards 430 are approximately parallel to each other and orientedin opposite directions (i.e., with the image sensors 415 capturing lightfrom opposite directions).

In some embodiments, the securing structures 440 comprise bolts, screws,or other fasteners that couple with an end piece 442 on the top surface332 of the base portion 330. In particular, a securing structure 440used to secure a circuit board 430 to a base portion 330 may be made upof three fasteners. Accordingly, the securing structures 404 of thedual-lens assembly may include six fasteners—three per circuit board 430and base portion 330. Multiple fasteners of the securing structure 440may couple with a single end piece 442. When secured by securingstructures 440, the top surface 432 of the circuit board 430 may comeinto contact with the bottom surface 334 of the base portion 330.Alternatively, the top surface 432 of the circuit board 430 may beseparated from the bottom surface 334 of the base portion 330 by anotherportion of the securing structures 440.

In one embodiment, the top 312 a of the first lens barrel 310 a extendspast the bottom surface 434 b of the second circuit board 430 b and thetop 312 b of the second lens barrel 310 b extends past the bottomsurface 434 a of the first circuit board 430 a. In another embodiment,an exposed surface of the first lens 410 a extends past the past thebottom surface 434 b of the second circuit board 430 b and an exposedsurface of the second lens 410 b extends past the bottom surface 434 aof the first circuit board 430 a. Additionally, the first lens 410 a maybe approximately parallel to the first circuit board 430 a and thesecond lens 410 b may be approximately parallel to the second circuitboard 430 b.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the lenses 410 are positioned to achieve alongitudinal offset A and a lateral offset B that reduces the physicaldistance, both longitudinally and laterally, between the lenses 410while maintaining sufficient lengths and diameters for the lens barrels310. The longitudinal offset A in this example is measured between outersurfaces of the lenses 410, and the lateral offset B is measured betweenoptical axes 450 of the lenses 410 as shown. Having a small amount oflateral offset B, for example, between 10 mm and 25 mm when diameters ofthe lens barrels 310 also measure between 10 mm and 25 mm, allows forless disparity and better stitch quality while maintaining a sufficientlength and diameter of the lens barrels 310 to avoid compromisingoptical quality or sacrificing form factor. For example, if the lensbarrels 310 were to be shortened or narrowed to achieve a smaller formfactor for the camera and/or stacked back-to-back, more bending of lightwould be required and additional optical elements may not be able to bepackaged within the lens barrels 310, sacrificing optical quality. Inanother example, the lateral offset B can measure between 15 mm and 20mm.

By implementing the lateral offset B between the lenses 410 and the lensbarrels 310, the longitudinal offset A between the lenses 410 is alsoable to be decreased, for example, as compared to configurations wherelenses and barrels are aligned back-to-back or are linearly aligned. Themagnitude of the longitudinal offset A between the lenses 410 directlyimpacts spherical image stitching capabilities. The larger thelongitudinal offset A, the higher the parallax between the lenses 410.This increases a minimum distance from an object at which sphericalimage stitching can be successfully accomplished. For example, in acamera 100 where the longitudinal offset A is between 25 mm and 35 mmand the lateral offset B is between 10 mm and 25 mm, objectsapproximately 600 mm (2 feet) from the camera 100 can be properlystitched into a spherical image. In another example, the longitudinaloffset A can measure between 28 mm and 32 mm.

If the longitudinal offset A were to be larger, for example, between 50mm and 70 mm, as would be the case if the lenses 410 and lens barrels310 were stacked back-to-back along the same longitudinal axis, objectswould need to be at least 1,200 mm (4 feet) from the camera 100 to beproperly stitched into a spherical image. The difference between thesestitching capabilities is important, for example, when the camera 100 ishandheld (vs. mounted on a tripod), as a handheld camera 100 is oftencloser to the objects of interest to be captured.

FIG. 5 illustrates a close-up cut-away view of a securing structure 440of the lens assembly 400. In some embodiments, the fasteners of thesecuring structure 440 do not come into direct contact with the bottomsurface 434 of the circuit board 430. Instead, there may be a piece ofcompressible foam 500 between the bottom surface 434 of the circuitboard 430 and the fastener of the securing structure 440. In oneembodiment, a securing structure 440 that includes three fasteners hascompressible foam 500 between one of the fasteners and the bottomsurface 434 of the circuit board 430, while the other fasteners contactthe circuit board 430 directly. The fasteners of the securing structure440 may include bolts or screws as well as other fastening mechanisms.

The compressible foam 500 beneficially prevents or reduces twisting ortilt of the circuit board 430 (which may subsequently cause misalignmentof the image sensors 415 and/or lenses 410) resulting from tightening ofthe securing structure 440. Particularly, varying the compression causedby tightness of the securing structure 440 is absorbed by thecompressible foam 500, thus allowing for a greater variance in the forceapplied by the fastener without causing optical misalignment.

FIG. 6 illustrates lens image circles 610, 620 projected onto photosites600 of image sensors 415 in a spherical camera 100. In one embodiment,the image sensors 415 are aligned within the cavity of the base portions330 such that the optical axes 450′ are laterally offset from the centerof the image sensors 415. The image circles 610, 620 are examplesshowing possible projections of the cones of light transmitted by therespective lenses 410. In conventional cameras that capture rectangularimages, the image circles 610 are designed to encompass the wholephotosites 600 of the image sensors 415. Because the photosites 600 arerectangular, the resulting images are rectangular. In contrast, tocapture a full hemispheric image, the image circles 620 of the lenses410 in a spherical camera 100 are instead completely located within thephotosites 600 as shown.

In the example in FIG. 6, the image circles 620 are aligned off-centerfrom the center of the photosites 600 to allow the lateral offset Cbetween the optical axes 450′ of the lenses 410 to be smaller than ifthe image circles 620 were centered. The lateral offset C may be smallerthan the lateral offset B that is described in respect to the opticalaxes 450 of FIG. 4B above given the off-center alignment of the imagecircles 620. Using off-center image circles 620 to achieve the lateraloffset C may further reduce the area of the blind spots 220 of thespherical camera 100 and thus increases the quality of the sphericalimage.

Additional Configuration Considerations

Throughout this specification, some embodiments have used the expression“coupled” along with its derivatives. The term “coupled” as used hereinis not necessarily limited to two or more elements being in directphysical or electrical contact. Rather, the term “coupled” may alsoencompass two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other, or arestructured to provide a thermal conduction path between the elements.

Likewise, as used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof,are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus.

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the invention. Thisdescription should be read to include one or at least one and thesingular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meantotherwise.

Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for thedescribed embodiments as disclosed from the principles herein. Thus,while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein.Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A camera, comprising: a camera body; afirst lens disposed on a first side of the camera body and having afirst optical axis; and a second lens disposed on a second side of thecamera body and having a second optical axis; wherein the first lens andthe second lens are oriented in opposite directions; wherein the firstoptical axis is approximately parallel to and spaced from the secondoptical axis by a lateral offset; wherein the lateral offset measuresbetween 10 mm and 25 mm; and wherein image circles of the first lens andthe second lens are off-center relative to photosites of image sensorscapturing hyper-hemispherical image planes from light entering the firstlens and the second lens, respectively.
 2. The camera of claim 1,wherein a distance between the image circles defines the lateral offset.3. The camera of claim 1, wherein the second side of the camera body isspaced from the first side of the camera body by a longitudinal offsetmeasuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.
 4. The camera of claim 1, wherein thesecond side of the camera body is approximately parallel to the firstside of the camera body.
 5. The camera of claim 1, further comprising: afirst lens barrel securing the first lens and a second lens barrelsecuring the second lens within the camera body.
 6. The camera of claim5, wherein axial lengths of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel are approximately equal.
 7. The camera of claim 5, whereindiameters of the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel areapproximately equal.
 8. The camera of claim 5, wherein central axes ofthe first lens barrel and the second lens barrel are approximatelyparallel to and spaced from each other by the lateral offset.
 9. Thecamera of claim 8, wherein the first lens and the second lens extendapproximately perpendicular to the central axes of the first lens barreland the second lens barrel, respectively.
 10. The camera of claim 5,wherein a distance between an outer cylindrical surface of the firstlens barrel and an outer cylindrical surface of the second lens barrelis smaller than diameters of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel.
 11. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising theimage sensors.
 12. A dual-lens assembly, comprising: a first lens havinga first optical axis and a first image circle off-center relative to afirst photosite of a first image sensor capturing a hyper-hemisphericalimage plane from light entering the first lens; and a second lens havinga second optical axis and a second image circle off-center relative to asecond photosite of a second image sensor capturing ahyper-hemispherical image plane from light entering the second lens;wherein the first lens and the second lens are oriented in oppositedirections; wherein the first optical axis is approximately parallel toand spaced from the second optical axis by a lateral offset defined by adistance between the first and second image circles; and wherein thelateral offset measures between 10 mm and 25 mm.
 13. The assembly ofclaim 12, wherein the first lens is spaced from the second lens by alongitudinal offset measuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.
 14. The assemblyof claim 12, further comprising: a first lens barrel having a hollowcylindrical shape, wherein the first lens is secured to the first lensbarrel; and a second lens barrel having a hollow cylindrical shape,wherein the second lens is secured to the second lens barrel.
 15. Theassembly of claim 14, further comprising: a first base portion extendingin an outward radial direction from a bottom of the first lens barreland joined with a midsection of the second lens barrel; and a secondbase portion extending in an outward radial direction from a bottom ofthe second lens barrel and joined with a midsection of the first lensbarrel.
 16. A dual-lens assembly, comprising: a first lens barrelsecuring a first lens having a first optical axis; and a second lensbarrel securing a second lens having a second optical axis; wherein thefirst optical axis is approximately parallel to and spaced from thesecond optical axis by a lateral offset, wherein axial lengths of thefirst lens barrel and the second lens barrel are approximately equal;wherein the first lens and the second lens are oriented in oppositedirections at opposing ends of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel; wherein the lateral offset measures between 10 mm and 25 mm; andwherein image circles of the first lens and the second lens areoff-center relative to photosites of image sensors capturinghyper-hemispherical image planes from light entering the first lens andthe second lens.
 17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein image circles ofthe first lens and the second lens are off-center relative to axialcenters of the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel,respectively, and wherein a distance between the image circles definesthe lateral offset.
 18. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the first lensat one end of the first lens barrel is spaced from the second lens at anopposing end of the second lens barrel by a longitudinal offsetmeasuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.
 19. A camera, comprising: a camerabody; a first lens disposed on a first side of the camera body andhaving a first optical axis; and a second lens disposed on a second sideof the camera body and having a second optical axis; wherein the firstlens and the second lens are oriented in opposite directions; whereinthe first optical axis is approximately parallel to and spaced from thesecond optical axis by a lateral offset; wherein image circles of thefirst lens and the second lens are off-center relative to photosites ofimage sensors capturing hyper-hemispherical image planes from lightentering the first lens and the second lens, respectively; and whereinthe second side of the camera body is spaced from the first side of thecamera body by a longitudinal offset measuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.20. The camera of claim 19, wherein the lateral offset measures between10 mm and 25 mm.
 21. The camera of claim 19, wherein a distance betweenthe image circles defines the lateral offset.
 22. The camera of claim19, wherein the second side of the camera body is approximately parallelto the first side of the camera body.
 23. The camera of claim 19,further comprising: a first lens barrel securing the first lens and asecond lens barrel securing the second lens within the camera body. 24.The camera of claim 23, wherein axial lengths of the first lens barreland the second lens barrel are approximately equal.
 25. The camera ofclaim 23, wherein diameters of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel are approximately equal.
 26. The camera of claim 23, whereincentral axes of the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel areapproximately parallel to and spaced from each other by the lateraloffset.
 27. The camera of claim 26, wherein the first lens and thesecond lens extend approximately perpendicular to the central axes ofthe first lens barrel and the second lens barrel, respectively.
 28. Thecamera of claim 23, wherein a distance between an outer cylindricalsurface of the first lens barrel and an outer cylindrical surface of thesecond lens barrel is smaller than diameters of the first lens barreland the second lens barrel.
 29. The camera of claim 19, furthercomprising the image sensors.
 30. A dual-lens assembly, comprising: afirst lens having a first optical axis and a first image circleoff-center relative to a first photosite of a first image sensorcapturing a hyper-hemispherical image plane from light entering thefirst lens; and a second lens having a second optical axis and a secondimage circle off-center relative to a second photosite of a second imagesensor capturing a hyper-hemispherical image plane from light enteringthe second lens; wherein the first lens and the second lens are orientedin opposite directions; wherein the first optical axis is approximatelyparallel to and spaced from the second optical axis by a lateral offsetdefined by a distance between the first and second image circles; andwherein the first lens is spaced from the second lens by a longitudinaloffset measuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.
 31. The dual-lens assemblyaccording to claim 30, wherein the lateral offset measures between 10 mmand 25 mm.
 32. A dual-lens assembly, comprising: a first lens barrelsecuring a first lens having a first optical axis; and a second lensbarrel securing a second lens having a second optical axis; wherein thefirst optical axis is approximately parallel to and spaced from thesecond optical axis by a lateral offset, wherein axial lengths of thefirst lens barrel and the second lens barrel are approximately equal;wherein the first lens and the second lens are oriented in oppositedirections at opposing ends of the first lens barrel and the second lensbarrel; wherein image circles of the first lens and the second lens areoff-center relative to photosites of image sensors capturinghyper-hemispherical image planes from light entering the first lens andthe second lens; and wherein the first lens at one end of the first lensbarrel is spaced from the second lens at an opposing end of the secondlens barrel by a longitudinal offset measuring between 25 mm and 35 mm.33. The dual-lens assembly according to claim 32, wherein the lateraloffset measures between 10 mm and 25 mm.